Panthers, Rutgers riding win streaks

The Pitt football team is off to its best start since 1982 at 6-1.

Dan Marino was under… The Pitt football team is off to its best start since 1982 at 6-1.

Dan Marino was under center on the Astroturf of Pitt Stadium during that season when the Panthers began 7-0.

While many Panther fans can remember back to the glory days of Pitt when names like Marino, Dorsett and May donned the blue and gold, not many can remember when Pitt needed a win versus Rutgers University to validate itself to be considered among the nation’s top football teams.

That’s probably because Rutgers is the same program that, up until last season, had a streak of 12 losing seasons and was the perennial bottom feeder of the Big East.

R-cubed…Rutgers Role Reversal

Along with those 12 consecutive losing seasons before last year, Rutgers has a well-documented past of struggling. The Scarlet Knights won a total of four Big East games from 1999 to 2004 and had a 25-game conference losing streak that extended from 1999 to 2003.

In that same time period, Pitt beat Rutgers six times in a row and pretty handily nearly every time. Those six meetings were won by an average score of 36-14.

However, as proven by last year’s Panther 37-29 defeat at the hands of the Scarlet Knights where Pitt rushed for a total of negative 11 yards, things have changed.

Rutgers comes into the game ranked 19th in the country and undefeated through six games.

In those six games, Rutgers has put up some staggering numbers. It is 16th in the country in rushing offense at 194.2 yards per game and is equally impressive on the other side of the ball.

Its rushing defense is 10th in the country allowing only 80.3 yards a contest and the Scarlet Knights are currently tops in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 8.3 points a game.

Turnovers equal Turnaround

While there are many reasons the Panthers have already won more games this year than they did all last year, the one that sticks out the most is the Panthers’ turnover margin and how turnovers have affected the season thus far.

Last year, the Panthers finished only behind Cincinnati in the Big East at -4 margin, while this year they have the best number in the conference at +10.

Not only has the positive turnover margin resulted in notable national numbers — the Panthers are tied for first in Division I-A with 20 forced turnovers and tied for fourth with 11 fumbles recovered — but it has also resulted in points which ultimately leads to victories.

When asked about why the Panthers are causing more turnovers than other teams in the country, Wannstedt made it clear that there is nothing special they are trying to do, it is something that is just happening.

“We [as a coaching staff] were talking this morning [asking] what are we doing to lead the nation in caused turnovers?” Wannstedt said. “One of our coaches made the comment that, ‘I think our guys are really focused in on what their jobs are.’ When you know what you’re supposed to do on defense, you can play reckless and that’s what they’re trying to get. When you play reckless, you’re going to make more things happen.”

Also receiving votes…

While the importance of this game is obvious for the Panthers in terms of conference standings and solidifying themselves as a legitimate contender in the Big East, this game will likely also put the Panthers on the map on another national level.

After its big win at Central Florida last Friday, Pitt was ranked 26th in both the AP poll and the USA Today poll, which means it is the best team in the infamous “others receiving votes category.”

Pitt, who received 10 more votes than the next team in the AP poll and 16 more votes in the USA Today poll, seems to be poised to crack the nation’s top 25.

While Wannstedt and his staff would be the first to tell you that the rankings don’t matter nearly as much as wins, it would be a joke to say that high school recruits don’t look at where your school finishes in the top 25 when they’re making their selections.